Passengers board the 14R Mission Rapid on Mission Street at a transit bulb outside the 16th Street BART Station in the Mission District.
This Transit Month, we’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Muni Forward!
Each week, we’ll highlight one of our Muni Forward corridors to share exactly how we worked to improve your trips — and the wins riders are seeing as a result.
Today, we shine the spotlight on the 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid. These lines run along San Francisco’s longest street and carry riders from the Ferry Building all the way to Daly City.
Muni Forward improvements for the 14 Mission 14R Mission Rapid
The 14 Mission and the 14R Mission Rapid are the busiest buses in the Muni fleet. Together, they serve more than 46,000 riders every day.
In 2016, the SFMTA launched the 14 Mission Rapid Project. This Muni Forward project has made trips along the route more efficient and reliable for Muni riders. It has also made the corridor safer for people walking.
We drove these results by using a toolkit of proven transit improvement strategies.
These strategies include:
- Dedicated transit lanes: We added red-colored transit lanes in the Mission District and elsewhere. Now, buses like the 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid can skirt traffic.
- Faster and safer boarding: New boarding islands and sidewalk extensions known as “transit bulbs” allow passengers to hop on and off the bus without stepping into the street. These features also keep buses moving, because operators don’t need to pull over and then merge back into moving traffic.
- Transit signal priority: Specialized traffic signals give buses the green light as they approach certain intersections. This means they spend less time waiting at red lights.
- Pedestrian safety features: Many traffic signals now give a head start to people crossing the street. Wider sidewalks at intersections make it easier for people driving to see people walking. They also encourage people behind the wheel to slow down while turning. Strategic left turn restrictions make crosswalks safer and prevent buses from being held up by turning cars.
- Preserving parking in key locations: To preserve valued parking spaces, we reconfigured a northbound lane in the heart of the Mission. This way, we could build a dedicated transit lane and keep parking spots.
A 14 Mission bus passes a boarding platform on Otis Street. Boarding islands and bulbs help passengers get on and off the bus quickly and safely.
14 Mission upgrades by the numbers
Muni Forward upgrades have increased efficiency and safety along the 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid. They have also improved public perceptions of this important route.
People riding the 14 Mission in SoMa are getting to their destination up to 31% faster in the neighborhood. Riders also benefit from travel times that are 25% more consistent in the Mission District.
Muni Forward improvements are saving 14 Mission riders an average of two minutes during rush hour. But some Mission District riders say it feels like they are saving as much as 10 minutes on their trips.
Muni Forward improvements along the14 Mission Route also include:
- 6.4 miles of new or upgraded transit lanes
- 50 intersections with transit signal priority
- 7 new transit bulbs/boarding islands
- 29 new pedestrian bulbs/islands
A paint crew installs a red transit lane on Mission Street in 2016. The red lanes in the Mission District were part of the 14 Mission Rapid Project and Muni Forward.
Fast and getting faster: the 14 Mission Rapid corridor
A critical part of our work on the Muni Forward project was expanding Muni’s Rapid Network. The Rapid Network prioritizes frequency and reliability on our most heavily used routes.
Our rapid lines carry nearly 70% of our customers, and the 14R Mission Rapid is one of the best-equipped routes to deliver fast and regular service.
That’s because close to half the route has dedicated red transit lanes. These special lanes remind people driving private vehicles to steer clear. The result: buses move quickly through the city.
Buses serving the 14R Mission Rapid route can take advantage of red transit lanes for the entirety of Market Street. On Mission Street, they get to use even more — all the way through the Mission District and most of Bernal Heights.
Collect stamps and experience 100 miles of public transit improvements with the Muni Forward Passport and interactive story map.
Transit Month and the Muni Forward Passport
There are lots of ways to explore and celebrate Muni Forward corridors during Transit Month.
You can check out our special interactive map that shows upcoming events and local businesses that are participating in the festivities. You can also pick up a commemorative Muni Forward Passport, which you can get stamped at participating businesses throughout September 2024. You can grab your very own limited-edition Muni Forward Passport at one of our Transit Month events or at participating businesses along the 10 Muni routes highlighted in the passport.
Since 2014, the Muni Forward initiative has made San Francisco’s public transit system faster, more reliable, easier to access and safer for people taking transit, walking, biking and rolling. More than 100 miles of Muni upgrades have been built or approved throughout the city.
To learn more about the Muni Forward Passport and see our interactive map, visit the Muni Forward Anniversary Passport webpage (SFMTA.com/Passport).